Tables of this kind are known in general, for example, from EP 1235115 A2 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,499,880 B2. Gas-guided or air-guided tables of this kind which are suitable for use in a vacuum environment usually comprise two axes which are oriented, for example, in x-direction and y-direction and can move under high-vacuum conditions. Gas bearing elements or air bearing elements are used, for example, on a fixed base plate, for virtually frictionless motion. Usually, slides are movable on guide rails, e.g., in the form of bars, along one axis, e.g., the x-axis, and a connection rail, e.g., in the form of a crossbar, is arranged between these slides in direction of the other axis, e.g., the y-axis, along which another slide runs, this slide carrying a tabletop arrangement, for example.
Operation of the gas bearing elements or air bearing elements requires gas under pressure to be supplied to the aerostatic bearing elements or gas guides. For aerostatic bearing elements and guides used under vacuum, the gas which is needed for operation and which is supplied continuously must be discharged again virtually completely before it can enter the vacuum environment. Sealing structures formed from evacuable ducts and sealing gaps whose sealing surfaces can also coincide with the surfaces of the guide are used for this purpose. The combination of suction channel and sealing gap is called a suction stage. The flow of gas into the vacuum can be gradually reduced through a series of suction stages arranged one behind the other.
During a relative movement between the components of the gas guide, the lines for supplying and discharging the gas may not be allowed to transmit any constraining forces to the guide so as not to impair its guide characteristics. For this reason, in the prior art mentioned above, highly flexible lines are used, or the lines are integrated in the rails or bars for the movement of the slides or are integrated in the slides themselves. In order to transfer the gas between the components moving relative to one another when integrated lines are used, there is a bore hole in one component that runs through a channel located in the second component. This solution requires expanded sealing gaps which must extend along a length of the channels that is determined by the movement path. This calls for a larger installation space, and sealing problems can occur.